Frequently Asked Questions

Your entitlement to occupational sick pay (OSP) is based on your length of service with LSE. Calculations are based on a rolling 12-month period. Any sickness absence that you have taken in the last 12 months is deducted from your remaining entitlement. Sick pay entitlement for LSE employees is shown in the table below.

For hourly paid employees, OSP calculations will be based on the average hours that they have worked over the last 12-month period or since their start date – if that start date is within the last 12 months.

If you are unable to work due to sickness, you should report your sickness absence to your line manager on your first day of absence, and normally before the start of your working day or shift. Sickness absence is normally reported by phone and / or email and you should follow the agreed reporting arrangements for your team. When reporting your sickness absence, you should briefly confirm the nature of your illness and where possible, the anticipated length of your absence.

You will need to keep your line manager updated about your absence if you remain unwell after the first day. 

If you are sick for up to seven calendar days (one week), you can ‘self-certify’ your absence and there is no need to provide any medical evidence. This seven-day period includes weekends and any non-working days. If you are sick for more than seven calendar days, you need a provide a fit note to your line manager which confirms that you are not well enough to work. You should provide this straight away. You will also need to ensure that you keep supplying fit notes to cover the duration of your sickness absence.

You can upload any fit notes that you receive to MyHR. You can do this by navigating to the relevant sickness record in MyHR and clicking the ‘attach’ icon.

Disability-related sickness absence should be reported in the normal way and in accordance with reporting procedures. Disability-related sickness absence may be due to the condition itself or due to related complications - such as sickness during treatment or rehabilitation for the condition.

When providing your absence reason, you can confirm that the absence is disability related. You can do this by:

• confirming this to your line manager when reporting your absence, and / or
• entering this information in the ‘notes’ section when recording your absence reason in MyHR.

Providing information in this way will help to ensure that any disability-related absence can be reviewed separately. These absences can also help to inform discussions with your line manager about any reasonable adjustments that may be required to support you at work.

You can also discuss any disability-related absence with your line manager during return-to-work discussions and check that a note has been entered alongside your absence reason to confirm that it was disability-related.  

Yes. Staff are encouraged to book medical appointments outside of their core working hours, or if this is not possible, either at the beginning or the end of the working day. Any time off from the working day should be discussed and agreed with your line manager in advance.

If your absence is for less than half a day, this will not need to be recorded in MyHR. Absences which are half a day or longer should be recorded in MyHR as sickness absence, in accordance with the Sickness Absence Policy.

If the medical appointment is disability-related, managers must make reasonable adjustments to accommodate this time off, i.e., by agreeing a greater degree of flexibility and / or accommodation. Where required, managers can seek advice from their HR Partner.

If you are sick for a reason that is not pregnancy-related, your sickness absence should be recorded in the normal way. If you are sick for a reason that is pregnancy-related, you should provide this information when giving your sickness absence reason. Your sickness absence should then be recorded as ‘pregnancy-related’ in MyHR. Pregnancy-related absence is treated differently to other absence and is not taken into consideration in any management reviews of sickness absence levels.

If you are sick due to pregnancy-related illness within the 4 weeks immediately preceding the Expected Week of Childbirth (EWC), your maternity leave will start automatically on the day after the first complete day of absence from work.

If you become sick during a period of annual leave, this may be recorded as sickness absence if you have followed the reporting procedures outlined in the Sickness Absence Policy. This includes notifying your manager on the first day of sickness and providing a medical certificate / documentation to authenticate your illness from the first day of absence.

If you have not followed the correct reporting procedures, are unable to provide a medical certificate, or have reported your sickness absence after the event, annual leave will not normally be reinstated.

If you are sick during a public / bank holiday or a School closure day, you will not be able to reschedule and take this holiday at another time. Sickness during this time will be counted as sickness absence for sick pay and reporting purposes.

You can make a request to take annual leave during a period of long-term sickness absence. Where your request is agreed by your manager, your sickness absence will be paused whilst you take your annual leave. During your annual leave, you will be paid at your normal rate of pay.

If you are not well enough to return to work after your annual leave has ended, your sickness absence will be reinstated and you must continue to provide medical certificates to cover for your ongoing absence. 

If you have recovered from illness sooner than expected and feel well enough to work, you should seek agreement from your line manager before returning. It is important that your health is not put at risk by returning early and you should not feel under pressure to do so. Your manager will need to discuss this matter with you fully and may seek advice from an HR Partner.

If you receive a fit note which confirms that you ‘might be fit for work’, you will need a discussion with your line manager to confirm what adjustments can be made to assist you in your return.